1. Technical Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to Ethernet networks and in particular to systems and methods for providing congestion notification in an Ethernet network using Ethernet Operations, Administration and Maintenance (OAM) protocols.
2. Description of Related Art
Enterprise or local area network (LAN) networks using Ethernet protocols are able to support multiple demanding services including, for example, voice-over-IP (VoIP), data, audio, video and multimedia applications. Various standards are being developed to enhance Ethernet to provide carrier grade, highly available metro area networks (MAN) and wide area networks (WAN). In particular, two standards, IEEE 802.1ag Standard for Local and Metropolitan Area Networks Virtual Bridged Local Area Networks Amendment 5: Connectivity Fault Management, approved in 2007, IEEE 802.3 Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection (CSMA/CD), Section 5 dated 2008 and ITU-T Y.1731 OAM Functions And Mechanisms For Ethernet Based Networks, dated July 2011, both of which are incorporated by reference herein, define protocols for Operations, Administration and Maintenance (OAM) for an Ethernet network. Ethernet OAM helps to provide end-to-end service assurance across an Ethernet network. For example, Ethernet OAM addresses performance management in Ethernet networks and defines protocols for connectivity fault management, such as fault detection, verification, isolation and performance monitoring, such as frame loss, frame delay and delay variation.
Although the Ethernet OAM protocol as currently standardized provides a framework for addressing certain connectivity fault management and performance monitoring issues, a number of other performance monitoring issues remain to be addressed.